Many recreational vehicles, such as, for example, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), roadsters, and snowmobiles, include various controls that are mounted on the vehicle handle bars. In many instances, both the left and right handle bars have controls mounted thereon. In a typical arrangement, the right handle bar will have some type of throttle control device mounted thereon, and the left handle bar will have a beam switch mounted thereon. Though configurations may vary, the beam switches on recreational vehicles are used to manually switch the vehicle light between the low-beam position and the high-beam position.
For many recreational vehicle beam switches, the default position is the low-beam position. When an operator depresses the beam switch once, it moves to and is locked in the high-beam position. Thereafter, if the operator again depresses the beam switch, it will unlock and return to the default low-beam position. Presently known beam switches that implement this functionality include a switch mechanism and a lock mechanism that are coaxially disposed, which results in a relatively large space envelope, and are functionally interrelated, which can cause inoperability of the switch mechanism if the lock mechanism becomes inoperable.
Hence, there is a need for a vehicle beam switch assembly that has a relatively small space envelope as compared to present switch assemblies and/or allows the switch mechanism to remain operable if the lock mechanism becomes inoperable. The present invention addresses at least these needs.